Ripping out two hearts with one hand
by theearthstillturns
Summary: Moriarty meets a Timelord who wants him to help him with his plans, and offers to help Moriarty destroy Sherlock in return…
1. We meet at last

James Moriarty paced up and down the corridors of the university. He sighed and mumbled to himself. The only words audible were "get Sherlock" and "not ordinary". Moriarty bit his lip and frowned. He shut his eyes and let the memories resurface.

_"But be honest, you're just a tiny bit pleased..."_

_"What, with the verdict?"_

_Sherlock's face was contempt._

_"With me, back on the streets." Moriarty sneered, "every fairy tale needs a good old fashioned villain. You need me or you're nothing. Because we're just alike, you and I -"_

_Sherlock shifted in his seat._

_"Except your boring," Moriarty continued, "you're on the side of the angels."_

The sound of a door unlocking broke Moriarty's train of thought. He scanned the dark corridor for any signs of movement, but there was nothing.

'It's night time, who would be wandering the university at night?' Moriarty thought.

The corridor echoed with the sound of footsteps.

'It's Thursday, the cleaners shouldn't be here...'

"Who's there?" Moriarty exclaimed, hoarsely.

Soft laughter filled Moriarty's ears, sending shivers down his spine.

"I am in no mood to play games! If you're a student and I find out who you are, I'm failing you for the semester!"

Moriarty's empty threat stopped the laughter. He exhaled and closed his eyes. He imagined Sherlock; the Final Decision, everything was working according to plan. He would fall, and be remembered as a fraud, a fake.

"... Because no one can be that clever," Moriarty whispered.

"Maybe..."

Moriarty opened his eyes and spun around, looking down the darkened corridor, his heart pounding in his chest. Frustration boiled inside him. He wanted to be left alone.

"Show yourself!" He shouted, "or else, I will find you, and the consequences will be severe!"

Moriarty clenched his teeth and took a sharp breath. As he exhaled, the soft laughter started again. It was playing on Moriarty's last nerve.

"If you do NOT show yourself I WILL RIP. YOUR. HEART. OUT." Moriarty spat.

"Well that would do you no good," a voice came from behind him, "considering I have two."


	2. The Master

Moriarty swiveled around, confused by the voice's last comment. A tall, slender figure with pale blond hair stood before him with a malevolent smirk and hunger in his eyes.

"Harold..." Started Moriarty. A smile played across his lips. He knew this man. Of course. "Saxon."

Moriarty chuckled, the man didn't move a muscle.

"I thought you went mad?"

Not missing a beat, the man spoke: "Well, there's two things you got wrong."

"What, I-?"

"For one," the man interrupted, "I may be Harold Saxon, but that is not my real name."

"Then what should I call you?"

"The Master."

Moriarty scoffed.

"And two-" The Master raised his voice.

Moriarty's grin faded. There was a long pause. The Master's voice echoed down the corridor creating a tense atmosphere between them. Moriarty placed his arms behind his back and shifted away, but The Master stepped towards him until they were a couple of inches apart.

"I need your help," The Master whispered, "I know you. Who you are, and what you want. You and I, we are alike, we both want the same thing. From different people, of course, but we are no different."

Moriarty closed his eyes. Sherlock. Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

"Yes," mumbled Moriarty.

He opened his eyes and looked at The Master. "But you are a mad man," he snapped.

The Master moved away from Moriarty and fumbled around in his pockets.

"Where is it?" He muttered to himself.

Moriarty rolled his eyes, he looked down the dark corridor, hoping for a way out of the situation he was in. The Master pulled a contraption out of his pocket. It reminded Moriarty of a screwdriver, but it was white with thick golden bands outlining the edges of it. The Master pointed it at the light above them and pressed a button down. There was a high pitched noise and the light flickered on, illuminating the section of the corridor they were standing in.

"What... How-?" Moriarty wasn't the one to ask questions, but The Master left him baffled.

"You want Sherlock," The Master said.

Moriarty gaped.

"I heard you mumbling," The Master smiled and continued: "you want him, and I want... The Doctor." His eyes lit up with the mention of the name.

"The Doctor. Doctor Who?"


	3. Two Days

Moriarty was beginning to get irritated. Never in his life had someone ever left him with so many questions. The Master eyed Moriarty and chuckled, "exactly, Doctor... Who?"

Moriarty's frustration showed on his reddening face. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the wall. The silhouette of notices and posters protruded through the darkness, as if they were reaching out to him for help. He scowled and turned back to face The Master. The Master closed his eyes and smiled a pleasant smile.

"Oh, James Moriarty-"

He stopped and opened his eyes. Without a word The Master turned around and started to walk down the corridor. Moriarty opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Wait!" He called.

"I'll be here, in this exact place two days from now, James Moriarty. We can work together and get what we want," The Master called back.

Moriarty hesitated. He barely knew the man who claimed to be 'The Master' but was in fact, to Moriarty's knowledge, Harold Saxon; who possesses a contraption that is able to turn on lights and speaks of a character called "The Doctor".

"I, uh, "stammered Moriarty, "I don't know who on Earth you are!"

There was a moment of silence. Moriarty dug his nails into his palms in anticipation. He could feel the blood trickle down his fingers as The Master slowly stepped back into the light and grinned.

"I'm The Master," he spoke, cheerfully.

Moriarty snarled, "No, you're Harold Saxon, you MAD MAN!"

The Master's grin turned into a malicious smile as he strode towards Moriarty, till their noses were about to touch.

"Get away! " Spat Moriarty.

He took a step back and let go of his hands to defend himself but it was too late. The Master grabbed Moriarty's head and slammed it against his own. Memories of The Master flooded into Moriarty's mind.

"Ugh!" Moriarty shouted, "The drumming! Get it out of my head!"

He dropped to the floor and blocked his ears with blood filled palms. But it didn't help.

"Don't worry," The Master called over Moriarty's shouting, "it will stop soon. For you, that is."

Moriarty lowered his hands and looked up at The Master.

"They are my memories," The Master chuckled at the horrified expression on Moriarty's face. "The drumming is momentary."

"T-two hearts," Moriarty choked.

"First comment I said to you makes sense doesn't it now?"

Moriarty closed his eyes.

_"If you do NOT show yourself I WILL RIP. YOUR. HEART. OUT." Moriarty spat._

_"Well that would do you no good," a voice came from behind him, "considering I have two."_

He opened his eyes again and gasped, in the meantime The Master started to back away into the shadows. Moriarty scrambled to his feet and shouted "wait!"

"Two days!" The Master called from the end of the corridor.

Moriarty heard the door creak open.

"Oh," exclaimed The Master.

Moriarty straightened himself up and listened out for The Master. There was a high pitched noise and the light Moriarty was standing under went out.

"Laser Screw Driver," whispered Moriarty, baffled.

"Watch out for the Vashta-Nerada!"

The door closed with an exited bang that echoed down the corridor. Moriarty stood in the darkness. He knew what those creatures were: invisible, carnivorous beasts that lived in the shadows and fed on human flesh. He let out a high pitched scream and collapsed to his knees. The drumming never stopped. Four beats – the heart beat of a time lord.


	4. An Unexpected Visitor

It was all too overwhelming for Moriarty. The Master, The Doctor, aliens... Different landscapes momentarily flashed before Moriarty's eyes. They were beautiful, absolutely stunning; the fields of red grass and the magnificent snow-capped mountains standing tall against an orange sky. There were trees with silver leaves and golden hills stretching far beyond the horizon. But the drumming was driving him to the edge. Moriarty stood up and ran to the end of the corridor where The Master had left him. He wrenched the door open and ran out into the foyer of the university campus. The moonlight bathed the stone floor and the shrubbery created demonic shadows that swayed in the cold breeze. Moriarty took a deep breath and looked up to the starless sky. He wiped his hands against his coat, hoping the blood wouldn't stain it and closed his eyes.

"This is just a very, very vivid dream," Moriarty assured himself.

He tried to block out the memories The Master had given him, but it was no use. The drumming just got louder and louder. Moriarty clenched his teeth and shivered as the cold breeze whipped through his hair. He inhaled, letting the crisp mown grass fill his nostrils, and then slowly exhaled whilst whispering:

"No monsters, no aliens, and no –"

Moriarty was cut off. He recognised it – that sound, but not from his own memory. The wind around him grew stronger, rustling the leaves on the hedges, disturbing the peace that he was trying so desperately to find. He opened his eyes and to his astonishment, a blue police box had materialized in front of him. His blue box – The Doctor. Moriarty jumped back and gasped.

"No, NO. DON'T YOU COME HERE TRYING TO FIX EVERYTHING," he shouted at the box.

There was a loud creak, and slowly the door of the TARDIS started to open.

"No," whispered Moriarty, as he stepped away from the box. "No more aliens."

As Moriarty turned to run, he could hear a muffled voice shout behind him "don't go into the shadows!" But it was too late. Moriarty was running through the corridors of the university, trying to get away from all these aliens that mysteriously popped out of nowhere. He could hear his own heart beating inside his ears over the top of the drumming and the footsteps that were following him through the campus. Moriarty felt dizzy all of a sudden; disorientated and confused. He was back in the foyer again and the blue box was still there, but the door was open. Get the box, he thought. Get it and go.

Moriarty's head spun as he clambered into the TARDIS. He knew how to fly it, he knew about the controls, so what was he waiting for? The door suddenly shut behind him and Moriarty felt his heart stop momentarily. Who was it? Who was in the TARDIS with him? The Master or The Doctor? Moriarty could feel his stomach churning inside him. He gripped his coat and slowly slid to the ground.

Darkness...


	5. A Drumming Lullaby

_"No," thought Moriarty, "this isn't how it's supposed to end!"_

_Moriarty grabbed his office desk and rammed it into the door with all the strength that was left inside him. He clutched his chest and sank to the ground, breathing heavily. There was a low growl from outside his office door and then silence. Moriarty shut his eyes and lightly started knocking his head against his desk. With every knock, the drumming in his head became louder and louder, until it was the only thing he could hear. Moriarty could no longer hear the snarls of the Vashta-Nerada outside his door, nor could he hear as they clawed relentlessly, hungry for his flesh. He slowly stood up and made his way to the window. The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight and the university campus below him was empty._

_"Turn around," a voice spoke suddenly._

_Moriarty was startled and did as he was told, turning around slowly. The drumming started to fade as his eyes locked with The Master's._

_"It's been two days," The Master chuckled, "are you with me, or am I going to have to kill you?"_

_Moriarty gave an exasperated sigh and said "no, I'm sorry, but no. I think I'd be better on my own."_

_The Master grinned. "I thought you would say that." His eyes lingered on Moriarty and then he looked down at his shadow._

_"Count the shadows," The Master whispered._

_Two, Moriarty had two shadows._

_"No, please, no, get them away from me!"_

_Moriarty tried to look for a way out, but he had no strength left inside him to move his desk away from the door. The Master smirked as Moriarty paced around the room, stammering and pleading for his life._

_"It's not my problem now," The Master laughed, and with those words, he was gone._

_Moriarty's ears rang with the laughter of The Master. The drumming was louder than ever now. He tried to block it out, but when he pressed his hands up to his ears he could feel the warmth of his blood trickling down the side of his face. Moriarty lowered his hands and to his horror his flesh was being ripped off revealing the white bone that was hidden underneath. It was over now; there was nothing he could do. He dropped to his knees and screamed out in excruciating pain._

_One, two, three, four._

_One, two, three, four._

_The drumming continued as the Vashta-Nerada feasted on his flesh. Blood splattered across the floor as Moriarty tried to catch his breath. He tried standing, but his legs were now bone._

_"Fantastic!"_

_The pain suddenly stopped. Moriarty looked around. No blood, no missing flesh, just the soft drumming in the back of his head. There was a loud bang and a book dropped on his head._

Moriarty awoke, gasping for air, the drumming loud in his ears. But he wasn't in his office; he was at home in his study, lying on his couch, tucked in with a white blanket. Moriarty looked around. It was the next day, he knew because the sun shone through the window, meaning the morning had just begun. He had until tomorrow evening to decide what to do with The Master.

"Sorry," called a voice from above him.

Moriarty looked down. He had in fact, been hit in the head with a book. He grumbled and looked up to see The Doctor, a tall skinny man with brown hair, wearing a blue suit and dark rimmed glasses, swinging from the large furnished, wooden ladder that was placed against the grand bookshelf in his study. The Doctor smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders, "you have a great collection here, Jim!"

Moriarty frowned and lifted himself up a little to get a better look at what The Doctor was doing.

"Sorry! I'm The Doctor, by the way..." The Doctor paused and waved at Moriarty, whilst giving him a little smile. "I was in the neighbourhood and you were being hunted by Vashta-Nerada. Nasty creatures they are, in groups of course. They feed on flesh... Till there's nothing left of you, just bone."

Moriarty didn't move a muscle, nor did he say a word.

"I made you a cup of tea," The Doctor pointed towards Moriarty's desk where a porcelain teapot stood next to a small cup and saucer.

"Thank you," croaked Moriarty, "for everything."

The Doctor smiled and nodded. He then reached out his arm and grabbed a small book from the shelf. "This... This looks interesting!" He exclaimed, turning the book over several times.

Moriarty closed his eyes and laid his head back on the pillow, musing about The Master and hoping The Doctor wouldn't break anything in his study.


End file.
